King Charles III’s Reported ‘Crisis Talks’ Over Recent Allegations May Prove This Royal PR Strategy No Longer Works

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The royal family drew a very hard line after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, and the Duke of Sussex published his memoir, Spare. There was nothing but silence. Yet in the wake of Omid Scobie’s book, Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival, it seems that the palace is finally realizing that they need to say something — anything — to the public. 

In the past, Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra of “never complain, never explain” was a key PR driver for the royal family. In 2023, that strategy doesn’t work in crisis situations, like when the Dutch version of the book accidentally publishes the names of the alleged “royal racists,“ who asked about Prince Archie’s skin color. Now, the Daily Mailis reporting that Charles’ communications team is meeting with Prince William’s aides to discuss the fallout from Scobie’s book.

The royal family is reportedly considering legal action after the misprint in the Dutch edition of Endgame, but it is expected that any reaction to the allegations will be a measured response. That means, don’t expect a statement anytime soon from the palace. The Mirror noted that royal fans should expect Charles to take a “business-as-usual” approach to his duties this week, but everyone in the family remains “united in outrage” over the revelations. 

King Charles is just over a year into his reign, and it has been fraught with controversy, anti-monarchy protests, and his inability to end a family feud. His late mother’s strategy for handling a crisis worked for decades, but the traditional approach doesn’t seem to apply in modern times in a palace that desperately wants to modernize. The royal family has let the story get way ahead of them, and now, it’s going to be hard to get the narrative back on track.

Before you go, click here to see the 100 best photos of the royal family from the past 20 years.